Startup PR 101: Getting Press Without an Agency

Why PR Matters for Startups

Press coverage does something that paid advertising can't: it builds credibility. When TechCrunch writes about your startup, that's a third-party validation that no amount of Facebook ads can buy.

Here's what PR can do for your startup:

Credibility and Trust

Coverage in respected publications signals to customers, investors, and partners that your company is legitimate. It's social proof at scale. When a prospect is evaluating your product against a competitor, that Forbes article tips the scales.

SEO Benefits

Every piece of coverage typically includes a backlink to your website. These high-authority links from news sites dramatically improve your search rankings. One TechCrunch article can be worth more than months of link building.

Investor Attention

VCs read tech publications religiously. Coverage puts you on their radar without a cold email. Many founders report that their funding conversations started with "I saw your article in..."

Recruiting

Top talent wants to work at companies making news. Press coverage helps you stand out in a competitive hiring market and attracts candidates who are already excited about what you're building.

When to Start Thinking About PR

The best time to start PR is before you need it. Building journalist relationships and crafting your narrative takes time. Start laying groundwork 3-6 months before any major announcement.

That said, you need something to talk about. Wait until you have:

• A working product (even if beta)
• Some early traction or interesting data
• A clear story angle beyond "we launched"

The Startup PR Mindset

The biggest mistake founders make is thinking PR is about their product. It's not. PR is about stories, and your product is just one element of the story.

You Are the Story, Not Your Product

Journalists don't write about products—they write about people, trends, conflicts, and ideas. Your job is to connect your startup to a larger narrative that readers care about.

Think Like a Journalist

Journalists have one job: write stories their readers want to read. They're judged on clicks, engagement, and whether editors assign them more stories. Before pitching, ask yourself:

• Would I click on this headline?
• What makes this relevant to the publication's readers?
• Why is this interesting beyond my company?

Long-term Relationship Building

PR is not a transactional exchange. The founders who get the most coverage are the ones who build genuine relationships with journalists over time. They're helpful even when they have nothing to pitch. They become trusted sources.

This means:

• Responding quickly when journalists reach out
• Providing background info without expecting coverage
• Connecting journalists with other interesting sources
• Sharing useful insights about your industry

What Makes Something Newsworthy?

Before you pitch anything, it needs to pass the newsworthiness test. Journalists evaluate stories against these seven criteria:

1. Timeliness

News is called news for a reason. Is this happening now? Is there urgency? A funding round is news the day you announce it. Three months later, it's history.

2. Significance/Impact

How many people does this affect? A startup serving a niche of 1,000 people is less newsworthy than one changing an industry of millions—unless that niche is incredibly influential.

3. Proximity

Is this relevant to the publication's audience? A local business journal cares about your Chicago headquarters. TechCrunch cares about your Silicon Valley implications.

4. Prominence

Are notable people or companies involved? A seed round from unknown angels is less newsworthy than the same amount from Andreessen Horowitz.

5. Human Interest

Is there an emotional angle? Founder overcame adversity. Company is on a mission to help underserved population. Technology reunites families.

6. Conflict/Controversy

Is there tension? David vs Goliath. Industry disruption. Challenging conventional wisdom. (Use carefully—you don't want to create enemies.)

7. Novelty/Uniqueness

Is this genuinely new? First of its kind? An unexpected approach? If your pitch could be about any of 50 similar startups, it's not novel enough.

Types of PR Opportunities

Not all PR is created equal. Here are the main types of opportunities and when to pursue each:

Company Announcements

The classic PR opportunity. Funding rounds, product launches, major partnerships, significant milestones (1M users, profitability). These are your tentpole moments.

Best for: Building awareness, credibility markers

Challenge: You need something genuinely newsworthy to announce

Founder Thought Leadership

Position yourself as an expert through bylined articles, podcast appearances, and quoted commentary. This builds personal brand and company credibility without needing news.

Best for: Ongoing visibility between announcements

Challenge: Requires genuine expertise and insights

Industry Commentary (Newsjacking)

React quickly to industry news with your unique perspective. When a competitor raises funding, when regulation changes, when a trend emerges—you can be the expert voice.

Best for: Quick wins, building journalist relationships

Challenge: Requires speed and genuine insight

Data and Research Stories

Original data is gold for journalists. Analyze your user data for interesting trends. Survey your customers. Commission research. Give journalists exclusive access to findings.

Best for: Building authority, high-quality backlinks

Challenge: Requires meaningful data and analysis resources

Customer Success Stories

A customer's transformation is more compelling than your product description. Help journalists tell stories about how real people solved real problems.

Best for: Product credibility, case study content

Challenge: Need customer permission and cooperation

Trend Pieces

Position your company as part of a larger trend story. Journalists love "the rise of X" articles, and your startup can be a key example.

Best for: Category creation, market validation

Challenge: Less control over final narrative

Building Your PR Foundation

Before you send a single pitch, you need these elements in place:

Your Core Narrative

What's the one-sentence story of your company? Not what you do, but why it matters. This narrative should connect your product to a larger trend or problem.

Your Angle Library

Develop 3-5 different angles you can pitch depending on the journalist and publication. Each angle emphasizes different aspects of your story:

• The Origin Story: Why you started this company
• The Trend Story: How you fit into a larger movement
• The Data Story: What your numbers reveal
• The Contrarian Story: Why conventional wisdom is wrong
• The Human Story: Who you're helping and how

Your Media Kit

Create a press page with everything a journalist might need: company overview, founder bios, high-res logos, product screenshots, key stats, and contact info. See our complete media kit guide.

Your Media List

Build a targeted list of journalists who actually cover your space. Quality over quantity—50 well-researched contacts beat 500 random emails. Learn how to build your media list.

Tracking Setup

Set up Google Alerts for your company name, competitors, and key industry terms. Monitor mentions and track your coverage. You can't improve what you don't measure.

The PR Process Overview

Here's the complete process for any PR campaign:

1. Research and Targeting

For each campaign, identify which journalists are most likely to cover your story. Look at what they've written recently, what topics they care about, and how your story fits their beat.

2. Pitch Creation

Craft a concise, personalized pitch email. Lead with why the journalist should care, include the key facts, and make it easy to say yes. Get our pitch email templates.

3. Outreach

Send your pitches. For major announcements, consider offering an exclusive to a top-tier publication first, then expanding to others after the initial story runs.

4. Follow-up

No response doesn't mean no interest. Follow up once after 3-5 days with new information or a different angle. Know when to move on.

5. Interview Preparation

When a journalist wants to talk, be ready. Know your key messages, anticipate tough questions, and have data and examples at your fingertips.

6. Post-Coverage Amplification

Coverage is just the beginning. Share it on social media, include it in email newsletters, add it to your press page, and thank the journalist publicly and privately.

DIY vs Agency: When to Hire Help

What You Can Do Yourself

• Building your narrative and angles
• Creating your media list
• Pitching to journalists
• Managing your press page
• Responding to HARO queries (see our HARO guide)
• Building journalist relationships

When Agencies Make Sense

• You're announcing a Series B or later (high stakes, high volume)
• You're entering a new market and need local connections
• You're managing a crisis situation
• You have more money than time
• You need guaranteed volume of coverage

How to Evaluate Agencies

If you do hire help, ask these questions:

• Who specifically will work on my account?
• What coverage have you gotten for similar startups?
• Can I speak with current clients?
• What does success look like in 6 months?
• How do you measure and report results?

Expect to pay $5,000-$15,000/month for a reputable startup-focused agency. Anything cheaper is likely junior staff or spray-and-pray tactics.

Common PR Mistakes

Mass-Blasting Generic Pitches

Sending the same pitch to 500 journalists is a fast way to get blacklisted. Journalists talk to each other. They know when they're on a blast list. Personalize every pitch.

Pitching Non-News

"We exist" is not news. "We updated our UI" is not news. If it wouldn't interest anyone outside your company, it's not ready to pitch.

Bad Timing

Don't pitch on Friday afternoon, during major holidays, or when breaking news dominates the cycle. See our timing guide for optimal windows.

Being Unprepared for Interviews

You got the interview! Don't blow it by rambling, giving inconsistent numbers, or freezing on basic questions. Practice your talking points.

Not Following Up

Journalists get hundreds of emails daily. A polite follow-up after 3-5 days is expected and appreciated. Just don't overdo it.

Expecting Immediate Results

PR is a long game. Building relationships and earning coverage takes months, not days. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

PR Tools and Resources

Media Databases

• Muck Rack - Comprehensive journalist database (paid)
• Cision - Enterprise-level media database (paid)
• Prowly - Affordable option for startups (paid)
• Hunter.io - Find journalist emails (freemium)

Monitoring Tools

• Google Alerts - Free mention monitoring
• Mention - Real-time media monitoring (paid)
• Brand24 - Social and web monitoring (paid)

Email Tracking

• Mailtrack - Simple Gmail tracking (freemium)
• Mixmax - Advanced email tracking (paid)
• Streak - CRM with email tracking (freemium)

Free PR Opportunities

• HARO - Connect with journalists seeking sources
• Qwoted - HARO alternative with more context
• SourceBottle - Another journalist query service

Measuring PR Success

PR is notoriously hard to measure, but you should track these metrics:

Coverage Metrics

• Number of placements
• Publication tier (Tier 1 = TechCrunch, NYT; Tier 2 = industry publications; Tier 3 = local/blogs)
• Article prominence (headline mention vs. passing reference)
• Sentiment (positive, neutral, negative)

Business Impact

• Website traffic from coverage (use UTM parameters)
• Leads or signups attributable to PR
• Inbound investor interest
• Hiring pipeline changes

SEO Impact

• New backlinks acquired
• Domain authority changes
• Branded search volume

For a detailed breakdown, see our complete guide to measuring PR success.